


Converse Redefinition

by by_no_one_more_than_me (Lady_Cleo)



Category: Hannibal (TV), Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Let's commiserate instead of being miserable, M/M, Mutually Unrequited, One-Sided Attraction, We're in the same boat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:17:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Cleo/pseuds/by_no_one_more_than_me
Summary: In which a pair of well-dressed men meet and bemoan their mutual love of brilliant unattainable brunets.Converse: (n) social interaction. (v) to engage in conversation; to associate; to reverse or turn around.(archaic) sexual intercourse.





	Converse Redefinition

**Author's Note:**

> Basic rundown- one of these sharp singular specimens is away from home and encounters the other in a hotel bar. I'm not terribly picky (or even entirely certain) which one walks in and which is already there. I just started writing.  
> This is written in a similar style to my Firefly/Doctor Who crossover, 'Another Story for Another Night.' Mycroft and Hannibal are quite alike if you think about it, and if they met up and were so inclined, they'd probably commiserate like this over Sherlock & Will.  
> The idea is one speaks and the other finishes, because their circumstances are very in line. But I'm not going into detail of who's saying what, so feel free to create your own scenario about which one is speaking any given line.

A well dressed man walks into the lobby bar of a lavishly understated hotel. He is not from here, and all he wants is a nice glass of wine, or perhaps a brandy, and a good meal. Normally rigorous about what he ingests, tonight is an indulgence of a different sort - not having to plan everything and control everything and do it all himself. At least for the span of a few courses.

To his surprise there is another man, equally well-dressed, nursing the drink he himself would have chosen. He seats himself perhaps one space closer than conventionally acceptable, and orders the same. They turn, unbidden but drawn with magnetic attraction - like seeking like, the recognition of a counterpoint - and offer the other a slight salute with their glass. Through no fault of their own, they size each other up instantaneously, parsing details from the mundane, gleaning personal and private from the picture presented. Education, background, careers, hobbies, a decent guess at languages spoken and understood, a possible overlap of preferred tastes.

Not what one would expect to find if one were not looking. Neither is looking per se, but that fact does not make the discovery any less delightful.

"Unwinding?"

"You might say that."

"I did. And I would."

"The cause?"

"I have a... difficult attachment in my life."

"Likewise."

"Blue eyes, for the most part but-"

"Changeable, almost a barometer for their mood. And that  _hair_..."

"Dark riotous curls, thoroughly untamable... though-"

"Why would one _ever_ try? Brilliant, incredibly so."

"Views the world in a way few can, sees things no one wants seen, knows what no one wants known."

"Almost at a glance, that burdensome gift of specialized... sight."

"Using it to solve crimes to fulfill some drive, some need."

"To be useful. To have a purpose."

"Something to strive for, focus on."

"Unique in their care of select and specialized others..."

"Although almost incapable of caring for themselves. Doesn't sleep well-"

"When he sleeps at all. And his eating habits..." The man breaks off, concluding with a soft  _tsk._

"Despite my best efforts," the other man agrees, raises his glass in a toast of acknowledging solidarity.

"And yet, without hope or agenda..."

"I love him. In a way I love no one else."

"Could never love another. But such intensity of feeling, alas, does not-"

"Guarantee reciprocity of it."

"Nor does it make the situation easier to bear."

"What can.. sometimes... I find," one begins with apparent tentativeness.

"Is the comfort in sharing a meal, even in silence..." Their answering smile is a sight.

"Or at least the absence of things best left unsaid." Its mirrored curve on the other's face is similarly astonishing.

"A like-minded companion, able to appreciate... sustenance."

"Mental, social, gastronomical. Indeed."

"Shall we? And after... perhaps..."

"Yes, quite. _Perhaps._ " The acknowledgement is on the borderline of knowing, potentially jesting, simply stated.

"I have a suite upstairs."

"So have I."

"A nightcap, then?"

"At least."

"Conversation."

"Communion."

"The meeting of like minds and..."

"The like."

"Of course," they chorus.

They regard. Their smiles are open, rare for them both. Only a hint of predatory gleam hovers in the exposed rows of even teeth, incisors and canines ready to serve the carnivorous side of the omnivores about to feast.

They devour through the hours: sumptuous food, rich wines, meaty and diverse topics of discourse, and converse with one another. A pleasant enough diversion, a means to pass the time a while. A way to forget the men they love so dearly - if only for a moment - in favor of the bold recognition of (and relief found in) someone who truly understands what it is to be in their shoes.

**Author's Note:**

> So there's my bit of crossover silliness. Hope you enjoy it. I'm off to my usual staterooms on the Hannigram & Mystrade ships.
> 
> A recent "scientific" study shows feedback can add to an artist's lifespan. Help keep a fic writer alive; feed them kudos and comments! :) Particularly since I'm not wild about the title; suggestions will be considered.


End file.
